


Maldrisa Musings

by Butterfliesinthenightsky



Category: Prodigal Son (TV 2019)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, F/M, Fluff, Light Angst
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-07
Updated: 2020-09-20
Packaged: 2021-03-02 00:33:46
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 9,817
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23536096
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Butterfliesinthenightsky/pseuds/Butterfliesinthenightsky
Summary: A collection of one shots and ficlets centering around the absolute pure and wholesome potential of Edrisa Tanaka and Malcolm Bright.
Relationships: Malcolm Bright & Edrisa Tanaka, Malcolm Bright/Edrisa Tanaka
Comments: 9
Kudos: 56





	1. The Two Faces of A Stranger

The mid-April sky was calm, yet a poignant tension could be felt in the air. It was deceptive, the clouds floating along without a care in the world, whilst pain and terror was encompassing the very body and soul of a woman. She wasn’t even supposed to be there, at the expensive country club, she simply was doing a favor for her cousin. Now here she was, crawling along a damp and cold concrete floor and bleeding from who knows how many wounds, whilst the man with a tattoo and broad shoulders strolled towards her at a predatory pace. Her exit to safety was within reach, she could see it. Pain seared through her skull, as the man pulled her towards him by her hair. Her arms flailed and tried to grab onto something, anything, in a vain and desperate bid to get away, but he was too strong. He crouched down on his haunches next to her, a tiger ready to devour his prey, and put the cold blade of the knife against her throat. 

“Such a pity, sweetheart.” he said, stroking a piece of hair from her face. Then she felt nothing, with the flick of the blade.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“What do we have?” asked Malcolm, walking into the basement of the Pleasantview Country Club. His eyes rested on the victim, a woman in her mid-twenties with a slight build and jet black hair. 

“Name is Emily Daniels, 28 years old. Originally from Connecticut, moved here after her parents were killed in a car accident when a drunk driver hit them head on. No family in the area, has been living with her best friend from college since they graduated.” said Gil, reading from his notepad. 

“Poor girl, she put up a struggle to get away.” Dani said, walking over from talking to another detective. 

“Quite! Multiple contusions, a hairline fracture at the base of her skull, and fifteen puncture wounds. But those weren’t what killed her, that would be the laceration of the throat, which also severed her carotid artery. Hence the quite wide arterial spray! Bright, lovely to see you as always!” exclaimed Edrisa, standing up from the crouch, beaming a smile in the direction of the handsome profiler.

“Hello, Edrisa. Lovely to see you too.” Malcolm said, smiling at the petite medical examiner, flashing a small smile. 

“Edrisa, can you give us a time of death?” asked Gil, trying to put a stop to the likely disaster that was the medical examiner’s flirtations towards Malcolm.

“Not at this point, I won’t know until I get her on the table and can properly examine her.” said Edrisa, glaring at JT, who could be seen chuckling underneath his breath. 

“Let us know, as soon as possible.” Gil said, stepping backwards and moving in the direction of the stairs, the team following behind. 

As the team were leaving the scene, a man approached them. 

“Sorry, I don’t understand what’s going on. What’s happened?” he said, fiddling with the sleeves of his tailored suit and his eyes shifting in between each member of the team. 

“Excuse me, who are you?” JT said, taking in the nervous behavior and putting it to the back of his mind for now.

“Sorry, my apologies. My name is Jacob Weatherby, I’m the director of this country club.” he said, shifting his stance. 

“Well, Jacob Weatherby, it seems you’ve had a murder on the premises. Mind telling us where you’ve been, must have been pretty important considering you didn’t even know a woman was murdered.” JT said, crossing his arms.

“Wait, what? A woman’s been murdered?! The board is going to kill me! Sorry, figure of speech.” the man rambled, running his long, slender fingers throughout his hair and started to pace back and forth. 

“ I don’t think you answered his question. You’re the director of this country club, and you didn’t find out right away what had happened?” Gil questioned, raising an eyebrow. 

“I’ve been out of town for the weekend, I had some business to attend to.” he said, facing them whilst he had slightly calmed down. 

“Mind telling us what sort of business?” Dani asked, looking up at him. 

“It was a personal matter, I’m afraid. I would rather not say.” he said, eyes narrowing. 

“We’re going to need to know, sir. Until we know more, I’m afraid everyone’s a suspect." Dani said.

“And I said I would rather not say. If you need to know more, you can talk to my lawyer.” Jacob huffed out. 

“Just stay in town, sir. We may have more questions.” Gil said, watching with annoyance as the man turned his back on them and walked away. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The team were standing in the briefing room, looking through the files and the crime scene pictures. A commotion could be heard in the other room, as Edrisa came running through as fast as her legs could carry her. She ran into yet another cop, spilling his coffee down the front of his crisp button down, as soon as she had stopped to help a detective pick up all of the papers that she had been the cause of him dropping in the first place. The team looked on with amusement as a blush spread across the apples of her cheeks, as she apologized profusely. 

“You won’t believe you what I found!” she exclaimed, as she came bouncing into the room, right into the chest of one certain profiler.

“Edrisa, not the time. What is it?” asked JT, smirking at the now even more prominent blush as she was still standing rather close to Malcolm Bright. 

“Sorry, Bright.” she said, stepping back a couple of steps and facing towards the rest of the team, who were smirking at her. 

“So as you all know, she had quite a lot of injuries, the killer made sure she suffered. But that’s not all! I found something inside of her when I was doing her autopsy. Look!” Edrisa exclaimed, holding out a blood covered piece of paper, sealed within an evidence bag. 

“Oh, that’s just disgusting. What does it say?” JT said, crinkling his nose.

“ You shouldn’t have left me.” Malcolm muttered, holding the bag close to his face in an effort to see the small handwriting. 

“Alright, that’s just twisted. What sort of a sicko does that?” JT said. 

“An obviously dangerous and obsessed one.” Dani said, fighting back a shudder at the gruesome discovery Edrisa had made. 

“I can see that mind working, Bright? What is it?” Gil asked, stepping towards him and taking the note from his hands.

“I have a preliminary profile.” he said, eyes meeting the rest of the team.

“How is that possible, Bright? We haven’t had any breakthroughs yet that would point us towards the killer.” Gil questioned. 

“Just go with me on this. I don’t think this message was intended for the victim, I think it was directed towards someone else. Obviously, it was towards a former intimate partner, going by the message of “You shouldn’t have left me.” I wouldn’t rule out previous partners that the killer wasn’t with intimately, it could have even been directed towards someone they went on a date with.” Malcolm said, putting his hand up near his mouth as he tried to put the pieces of the puzzle together. 

“So what’s your profile?” Dani asked. 

“Male, mid to late twenties, average build. It is incredibly likely that the killer has ROCD, otherwise known as Relationship Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. Judging by the message left inside of our victim, our killer is spiraling out of control and has felt rejected by this other person and it’s highly likely that the person who he has fixated on is in extreme danger. Until we catch him, it’s likely that he will continue to do so until the objects of his affections is either his or is dead herself.” Malcolm said, heaving a deep sigh and turning back towards the team. 

“Are you certain, Bright?” asked Gil. 

“I’m sure. Whoever this target of this man is, she is in immediate danger and we need to help her.” Malcolm said. Out of his peripheral vision, he could see something was wrong with Edrisa. Her face has grown pale, her hands were trembling and tears were forming in her eyes. 

“Edrisa, are you okay?” he asked, stepping towards her. As soon as he did so, it’s like she awoke from a deep trance. Her eyes connected with his, he could quite clearly see something was wrong with his fellow puzzle enthusiast. 

“Yes, I’m fine. I actually just remembered, I have to go. I’m meeting up with some colleagues from downstairs for lunch.” she stuttered, rushing out of the room, avoiding their eyes.

“Okay I’ve never seen her like that. I’ve known for years, and not once she has responded that way around us or crime scene photos. What’s so different about this time?” Dani asked, worried about her close friend. 

“I don’t know, but we don’t have time to worry about that. JT, I need you to go back to the scene and try to find any witnesses. Dani, I need you to look through the footage that the security for the club sent on over. Malcolm, you’re with me, we need to see if we can get a meeting with the director of the country club. Something tells me he’s got something to hide.” Gil said, giving everyone directions as to what needed to be done. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Something was bothering Malcolm. What had caused such fear in Edrisa earlier on? He had only known her for a few short months, but he had not once seen her act that way. Something had seriously rattled her, but what? 

“You guys need to see this.” Dani said, beckoning the others over to her desk, where the security camera footage was pulled up on her computer screen. 

“What are we meant to be looking at?” JT asked, squinting his eyes and trying to get closer to the screen. 

“First off, I’m going to need you to back up because I can smell the chinese food you had for lunch on your breath man. Second, what you’re looking at is Director Jacob Weatherby coming out of the basement of the Rockport Country Club at approximately 10:13 two nights ago. Question is, though, didn’t he say that he was out of town for the weekend?” Dani asked, turning her chair around and looking up at them. 

“Seems Mr. Weatherby has a bit of a problem with lying to the NYPD. What do you say we go have another talk with him?” JT asked, straightening up once again, jaw clenching. 

“Before you go, there’s something more serious that I need to show you. I knew I got a bad feeling from him, so I took the liberty of looking into places that he had been within the past month. I saw a credit charge to a expensive restaurant downtown, which itself didn’t concern me. What did concern me was the charge to a McGinty’s Gun Warehouse the night after, though. You said that the object of his ROCD was in danger, right? I got the security footage from the restaurant. It’s not good, we have a serious problem.” she said, heart racing and eyes flitting nervously between the three men she worked closely with. 

“What is it, Dani? What did you see?” Gil asked, taking a step closer when he could see how distressed she was.

“He wasn’t by himself at the restaurant. He was on a date, I saw him and the woman come out of the restaurant. They started arguing, quite loudly it looked like. He tried to put his hands on her and pull her towards his car, but she got away. Guys… he was on a date with Edrisa, she’s the one that he’s going after.” she said, tears starting to well in her eyes.

“Alright, we need to find Edrisa. We don’t have the time to fight over how you got access to that security footage, we’ll deal with that later.” Gil said, walking at a brisk pace towards the elevators. 

“She’s not picking up her phone or answering any texts.” Malcolm rushed out in a single breath of air. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Still not picking up. What if he’s got her?” Malcolm asked Gil, sparing a quick glance at the man who he had come to think of as a father figure. 

“She’ll be fine, Malcolm, she’s stronger than she looks. She has to be fine.” Gil said, knuckles stark white as they gripped the steering wheel with an iron grip as he raced through the streets of New York.

The team made it to Edrisa’s apartment in record time, a flash of lights and a cacophony of sirens following directly behind them as units followed as backup. 

“Alright, be careful when going in. Proceed with caution, it’s possible our killer has one of our own in there. Ready?” Gil asked, questioning the team and the backup units in the stairwell leading up to her apartment. 

Nods could be seen resonating throughout the huddle of men and women on the stairs, cramped together, but trying to keep as quiet as possible for the sake of their fellow family member who may or may not be in danger in there. 

“On the count of one… two… three…” Gil whispered, as they forcefully broke down the worn purple door. 

Time stood still, and the air in the universe shifted as the team broke down the door. only to see the woman who they had come to love as one of their own take a bullet to the stomach. Black spots started to appear in her vision as she looked down and felt the warm blood dance between the curves of her fingers, quickly staining her cream sweater a fierce and vibrant red as she bled out. 

“No!” yelled out Malcolm, racing forwards to catch her before her body could connect with the hardwood floor. 

The man, Jacob Weatherby, slowly turned towards them and with a sinister smirk upon his features and a flourish of his arm, he raised the gun towards the police officers standing in the doorway. Gunshots rang out, as multiple officers took their shot and killed him in an instant. 

“Hey, Hey, Edrisa. I need you to breathe for me. Can you do that?” Malcolm asked, cradling her within the safety of his arms, willing himself to take away her pain. 

“I’m fine, it’s not too bad.” she stuttered out, eyes shifting in and out of focus, her body trembling.

“We need an ambulance at 1108 Baker Street, we have a 29 year old female, GSW to the abdomen. Suspect is down.Hurry!” JT yelled into a radio. 

“You’re fine, you’re going to be fine Edrisa. Remember that puzzle you were telling me about the other night, the 3D one of the Notre Dame? How’s that coming along?” Dani rushed out, sitting down on the floor next to the two and grasping one of her hands in her own. 

“I can’t get the last ten pieces. They just don’t fit in, no matter how hard I try.” Edrisa coughed out, blood starting to dribble from her mouth. 

“Where’s that ambulance?” yelled Gil, tears rolling down his face at the scene in front of him. 

“They’re here!” yelled JT, holding the door further open as the team of medics rushed into the room and moved her onto the gurney. 

The team was a loss for words, why didn’t they see it? She had been acting strange this morning during the briefing, why hadn’t they connected the dots? 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“She’ll be fine, Malcolm. Our girl is a fighter.” JT said, slumping back down into the hard plastic of the waiting room chair. 

“Did they tell you anything?” Malcolm asked, face red and blood-covered hands trembling. 

“No, they said they can’t. Only family is allowed to know.” JT gritted out, jaw clenching and crushing his cup of lukewarm coffee in his hands, causing it to spill onto his pants and the floor beneath him. 

“God damn it!” he said, rushing off to grab some napkins from the little coffee cart that was somehow supposed to calm down the fears of those that had family members fighting for their lives. 

“Fuck this. I’ll be right back!” Gil said, storming in the direction of the receptionists desk once again. Raised voices could be heard, as Gil was seen arguing with the nurse standing guard at the desk, tempers flaring on both sides. 

“Just let him in, damn it! He’s her husband, he has the right to see her!” Gil yelled, taking the information from Gil’s hands.

“What? Edrisa has a husband?” Dani asked. 

“She does now. Malcolm, you can go inside. You are her husband after all.” Gil said, giving him the room number. 

“Wait, what?!” JT asked, spitting out the coffee that he had just freshly poured for himself. 

“Not actually, JT. He just said that so one of us would be able to see her.” Malcolm said, standing up and going pale, seeing her blood upon his hands .

“Here you go, brother. You might want to clean them, we don’t want to scare our girl do we?” JT said, handing Malcolm a napkin.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

His hands were trembling, paused on the cold metal of the doorknob to her room. He was terrified to walk through the door, what would he see? Would she be within inches of passing through the veil into the afterlife? Was she sitting up in the uncomfortable hospital bed, eyes glued to the tv screen as she watched her favorite television show, not caring that she had almost just been murdered in front of their very own eyes? 

A whoosh of air was heard as Malcolm Bright, profiler extraordinary, pushed down on the handle with a motion of the wrist and shouldered open the heavy door. His breath felt trapped in his lungs, his steps were heavy and measured as he walked down the small hallway that went into her room. He turned the corner, and he felt the cracks in his heart heal themselves. She was sleeping peacefully, her heart beating a steady rhythm through the machine, pushing back the storm that was battering at his mind. 

He took a seat on the armchair right beside her bed, and placed his larger hand on top of her petite one as it rested upon the scratchy hospital blanket. He took the time to examine her features, as if it would calm his racing heart from what had just happened. When he took them in, it just made his heart race faster. He had always known of her feelings towards him, she hasn’t exactly been subtle about them. She was like him, she too had demons, but they had common interests. Staring at her now, he found her to be inexplicably beautiful. Don’t get him wrong, he had always found her beautiful and had always had feelings for her, he just had always kept them tampered beneath the surface. He had demons, he didn’t want to force them upon her. She was a spark of light in his other wise dark life, and he didn’t want his demons to exstinguish it. 

He was too preoccupied on the workings of his inner thoughts and his mind, he didn’t feel it as her hand gently squeezed his and she slowly opened her eyes. 

“Malcolm? What happened?” she asked, her eyes squinting in an effort to get used to the harsh lighting in her room. 

His head snapped up towards her face, taking in her features now that she was fully awake, and his eyes drifting back down towards where their hands were joined. 

“You gave us quite a scare there, Edrisa.” he said, squeezing her hand lightly to let her know that he was there as he saw her nose scrunch up. 

“I’m sorry that I didn’t tell you guys.” she said, eyes welling with unshed tears and her heart starting to race. 

Malcolm, noticing this, fully intertwined their hands as one and pulled his chair as close to her bed as physically possible.

“There’s absolutely NOTHING for you to be sorry for, Edrisa. I don’t want you to ever blame yourself for this. I don’t care what you didn’t tell us, or why you didn’t us, you’re still here with us and you’re never losing us.” Malcolm said, softly brushing the tears from her face. 

“Can I please just say this? I need to get it out. He was all charming, he said all the right things. He picked a restaurant I could have only dreamed of going into, and I felt beautiful. We were leaving for the night, and he was being a perfect gentleman. My heart just wasn’t in it, though. I thanked him for the lovely date, I had feelings for someone else though. He didn’t take it well, though, that’s what you saw us arguing about. I remember him grabbing my arm in a vice grip, I had to cover my arm for a week afterwards due to the black and blue bruise that bloomed. It wasn’t until a couple of days after the date, I saw him at the local coffee shop that I go to in the morning before I come in for work. Then I saw him at the park whilst I was walking my neighbors dog, whilst she was on vacation. Then it was at the farmers market, then my favorite book store. It got to the point that I was looking over my shoulder everywhere I went because I was terrified that he was following me. I put a deadbolt on my apartment door and kept every window locked because I was scared he knew where he lived. I’ve lived in this constant state of fear for months now, and I just… I didn’t know how to ask for help. I know my worth, and I didn’t deserve that, but I just didn’t know how to tell you guys. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you, I’m so sorry.” Edrisa explained, sobs wracking her body as she finally confessed everything to the man she had held feelings for months. 

“Don’t you ever be sorry, Edrisa. You were scared and you didn’t want to put us in harm’s way by telling us, I understand. Just know that no matter what, we are always here for you. You’re one of us, and we love you.” Malcolm said, brushing hair out of her face and stroking his thumb in circles on the top of her hand. 

“You love me?” she asked, eyes widening and sitting up straighter in the hospital bed, wincing at the sudden pull of her stitches. 

“Careful! And of course I love you, silly girl, I think I’ve made that obvious just now.” he said, a shy smile bursting forward and light coming back into his eyes, leaning forward to fix her pillows so she would be comfortable. 

“Sorry, I think I need you to repeat that.” she asked, staring up at him as his face was near hers. Her mind was racing a thousand miles a minute, and her heart had felt like someone has simultaneously shocked it with jumper cables and stopped it at the same time. 

“I love you.” Malcolm said, leaning imperceptibly closer, his eyes flicking towards her lips. 

“I just wanted to check that I heard what I actually heard. Are you going to kiss me or not?” Edrisa asked, her heart singing like a music box at Malcolm confessing to his feelings for her.

“With pleasure.” He breathed out, his lips finally touching hers with a featherlight touch and his fingers coming up to move her hair behind her ear with a gentle touch. 

“Finally.” Edrisa thought to herself.

“Finally.” Malcolm thought to himself.


	2. Broken Hearts and A Battered Soul

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What happens when dear Edrisa overhears a conversation, hears something that breaks her heart? Will she be okay? More importantly, will her heart be okay?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Based off a prompt from the below list! Some absolute gems in there. 
> 
> https://an-exotic-writer.tumblr.com/post/145550544049/five-word-prompts

Malcolm Bright was an enigma of a man, a mystery wrapped up in the cocoon of a human skin, Edrisa Tanaka was sure of this. It was plain to see that the medical examiner for the NYPD had an infatuation with the handsome profiler, even those that only had interactions the two of them together in passing had made remarks upon it to their team. Remarks about how they observed her eyes immediately being drawn towards the man, the minute that she stepped into the room. Remarks about how her fingers would dance in intricate patterns in the air when she was explaining something to him. Remarks about how she would stumble upon her words, how they would spill from her lips as if they were a waterfall that she could not stop. And finally, and the most obvious, how her cheeks would darken with a dusty pink tone and her eyes would spark even further into life.

She had come to think of Malcolm Bright as a constant in her life, and she knew in her heart that he would always be in her life. Perhaps not in the way that she would have preferred, but she would rather have him as a friend than nothing at all. She could hear the whispers and see the looks that she would get from others within the NYPD, when they would witness her bumbling over her words whenever he was around. She was Edrisa Tanaka, medical examiner extraordinare, how could one man do such things to her? 

Things were complicated, though. She knew that Malcolm had a past, especially in regards to his family, and that it had made him emotionally compromised in certain aspects of his life. Specifically, relationships. The man was fearful of his past and how it would affect the woman in his life. He had demons, and she knew that he fought a daily battle with them, and there were days when he broke down and let them get the better of him. She had seen some of the women in his life, and her mind wandered to them, comparing all the differences between them and her own self and how we was most likely more compatible with them. It was quite silly really, comparing themselves to her. They were their own individual women, and they each were strong and powerful woman and they shouldn’t have been defined by which of them a man picked. Edrisa was raised to be a strong woman by her parents, and here she was doubting herself. She didn’t blame Malcolm, she could never blame Malcolm. 

So if she could never blame him, why was she hiding from him? She wasn’t in fear of him, never. No, it was from a place of embarrassment that she was hiding. Several day before that, she had left the comfort of her lab after a difficult day of work and headed up to visit with the team after they had just wrapped up a case that had taken a toll on all of them. Whenever she was feeling upset, the only thing that made her feel better was a warm cup of chamomile tea (with perhaps a couple small drops of whiskey in it) and a slice of cherry pie with whipped cream. She had left earlier on in the day and bought a few slices of the most delicious cherry pie that you will ever come across, from a little Mom and Pop’s Bakery that was at the end of the street from the precinct, and brewed a fresh pot of chamomile tea. Balancing the goodies precariously in her arms, she slowly rode the elevator up to the floor her favorite team were based on. Stepping out, she plastered a bright (HA) smile on her face and started walking in the direction of their offices. Trapped within the thoughts of her own mind, she had almost missed the brief and fleeting mention of her name by two of the more inexperienced detectives. She would have simply kept on walking, had it not been for the peals of laughter that erupted from within the two after the mention of her name. Goosebumps erupted on the flesh of her arms, and her throat constricted upon itself, a nervous reaction to what the two men were possibly saying about her. Her curiosity got the better of her, her footsteps like that of a ballerina mid-pirouette as she stepped closer to the wall which they were on just the other side of. 

“I don’t understand how she hasn’t got the hint by now! It’s clear the dude isn’t interested in her.” said the younger one, a short man at the height of 5’4 with an even shorter temper. 

“She’s obviously delusional! Did you see her last week at that crime scene with the guy in the ball pit? She was all but man-handling him.” the other piped up, sipping leisurely from his cup of coffee that closely resembled the taste of sewer water, if one was ever in the position of knowing what that taste was like. 

Her emotions betrayed her, a single tear rolling a path down her right cheek, as she listened to what the two men were saying about her. Was she really that oblivious? Was she really that embarrassing to even fathom being in a romantic relationship with? Her hands were the next to betray her, the ceramic tea pot that she had bought for 5 dollars at a flea market and then lovingly hand painted with an intricate design, clattering to the floor and shattering into a thousand pieces, along with her heart. 

The two men, oblivious to the very fact that she had been standing on just the opposite side of the wall for the entire duration of their conversation about her, were startled by the smash and turned the corner to investigate. Upon seeing her, their faces turned pale, the very act of getting caught badmouthing a coworker by said coworker, shaking them to their cores. 

How do they think she felt? Her soul was crushed, it had disintegrated into particles of nothing, along with her broken heart. Unable to stand there any longer without wanting to sob, Edrisa quickly turned and fled back into the direction of the elevators once again, pieces of smattered cherry pie laying on the ground as they joined the beloved teapot. The seconds ticked on and on, creeping along at the pace of a snail, the wait for the elevator seeming to last an eternity. Finally unable to stand there any longer, Edrisa bolted towards the door to the stairwell, shoving it open with the weight of her shoulder, taking the stairs two at a time. All the way back down to her lab, her body shook with both shed and unshed tears. How was she supposed to get over this? Gossip ran through the department like wildfire, starved for oxygen and consuming all that was within reach. Once within the four walls of her safe haven, she let her emotions overcome her. What was she to do? 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Two months had passed by, two months since Edrisa had overheard something that she would rather forget. The ripple effect of why, all of a sudden, Edrisa Tanaka refused to work with Gil’s team or even be in the same room as them had finally reached the ears of the team. Well, not the true reason as to why all of a sudden the bubbly medical examiner would either A) run in the opposite direction when she saw anyone from Gil’s team or B) make up excuses as to why all of a sudden she would have to leave. But simply the fact that something was wrong with Edrisa, the first to notice being Malcolm. 

“I don’t understand what’s happened with Edrisa. It’s like a switch has been turned off in her, she refuses to be in the same room as us. Not even just me, all of us.” Malcolm pondered, running a hand through his hair in frustration. 

Dani and JT shared a look amongst each other, a look that did not make it past Malcolm and his deductive skills. 

“What was that look for? What’s going on, do you guys know something?” he asked, glancing back and forth between his two team mates, two people that he had come to think of as family, and now two more people who were potentially keeping secrets from him. 

“It’s nothing, man. We just need you to promise us that you won’t lose it on us, kay?” JT asked, standing up from his perched position on the edge of Dani’s desk. 

“Why would I lose it on you guys?” Malcolm asked, narrowing his eyes in the direction of the two, in suspicion as to the cloak and dagger act. 

“We promised not to say anything. More than anything, we promised not to say anything to protect her.” said Dani. 

“You need to tell me what it is going on, now.” Malcolm told them, his temper starting to rise. 

“Your girl Edrisa came up here a couple weeks back after we wrapped up the Aldermann case, we were all in rough shape. She wanted to surprise us by bringing us tea and pie, thought it would help cheer us up after the case. Apparently, she heard some of the guys talking about her before she could give them to us though.” said JT, rubbing the back of his neck. 

“What were they saying?” he asked, his jaw clenching and his hand starting to vibrate, a motion that did not go un-noticed by the pair. 

“You know how she’s always acted around you, Edrisa thinks you hung the stars in the sky. When she would always be forward with you at crime scenes, we kind of just brushed it off as her being herself. When she came to visit, though, she heard two detectives talking about how she was delusional and that she should just take a hint that you didn’t like her. We just found out yesterday what happened, we weren’t quite sure how to tell you the reason for her not wanting to see us.” Dani said, trying her best to forget the look of pain that crossed her best friend’s face.

In the flash of an eye, Malcolm was making purposeful strides in a hurry to get to the elevator. He needed to make things right, he needed to make things clear. He never wanted to see her suffer, he always wanted to be the one to take away her pain. In a twist of fate, the elevator that would take Malcolm the however many floors to being able to see Edrisa, decided as well to prolong the wait. Standing there for two minutes felt like an eternity, the hands on the clock ticking by as if stuck in quicksand. Unable to wait, Malcolm pushed open the door to the stairwell and started his descent down the flight of stairs towards the basement. He needed to fix this, he was unable to protect her from this before, but he would be damned if he didn’t make things right between the two of them. 

He stood at the end of the hallway, the door into her lab stretched out in front of him. With every step he took, he could feel the nerves rising more and more. How do you start off a conversation about this? 

“I’m sorry I’ve caused you pain.” No, not that way.

“We need to talk.” That sounded like he was breaking up with her, when in actuality they weren’t even together. 

Finally, he gently swung open the door into her safe haven. A place that she felt comfortable, loved, protected even from the cruel world outside. There she stood, with her back to him, organizing her desk whilst listening to some old school jazz music. 

“I’m sorry.” he blurted out, the words tumbling from his lips before he could stop them. Not that he would want to stop them, he caused her pain inadvertently and he needed to apologize. 

A squeal fell from her lips, as the sudden voice startled her. Papers from multiple case files flew up into the air, like a hurricane had taken hold of them from her hands and thrown them about. Alarmed by the sudden intrusion into her den, by Malcolm of all people, she whipped her head around at an alarming rate. Papers fell around her, like super-sized snowflakes, like confetti to the ground. 

“My apologies, I didn’t mean to scare you Edrisa.” said Malcolm, striding forward to help her gather up the abundance of paper that now littered the floor of the morgue. 

“It’s… it’s no problem. Is there something that I can do for you, Mr. Bright?” she asked, eyes trained on the ground as she was terrified to look into his eyes in the fear of falling in love with them all over again. 

“I’m so sorry, I heard what happened with those assholes upstairs.” he confessed, handing a thin stack of papers towards her, his fingers brushing lightly against hers at one point. 

“It’s no matter, don’t worry about it. It was silly of me, really. I need to be getting back to my work, Mr. Bright.” Edrisa said, moving to walk away. 

Before he could think of what he was doing, Malcolm grabbed Edrisa by the hand and pulled her back towards him with a slight tug. She collided with his strong chest, letting out a slight huff at the impact, before a blush crept up her neck and to the tips of her ears and she started to back away. 

“I need you to listen to me, Edrisa Tanaka. I don’t want you to ever listen to anyone, especially if they dare to question your worth or your value in a relationship. Neither of us are perfect, I think we can both admit that. But you’re the closest thing to perfection that I have seen. You’re one of the things that I need most in my life, you make it brighter. I love you and **actually…. I just miss you.** I miss you being around me.” Malcolm confessed, heart racing and his hands shaking for a good reason. For once. 

“I think I need some clarification. Are you saying that you want to be with me?” Edrisa asked, taking a cautionary step towards Malcolm. 

Closing the gap between the two of them, he whispered, “Until the end of time.” and pressed a kiss to her lips. Taking in the taste of her cherry chapstick, his heart skipped a beat. Stepping back from her, he wrapped his arms around her petite frame and put his forehead against hers. 

As they continued to embrace each other, their hearts healed from the pain both had endured over the course of the past two months. 

Their hearts were happy.


	3. Summer Nights

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Summer nights are meant for friends. Sometimes awkwardness ensues when two of those friends get caught making lovey-dovey eyes at each other, though.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would like to apologize that this chapter is both A) later than I would have liked and B) kind of bad writing, to be honest. I've been stressed with work, and my anxiety hasn't been good lately. Plus, we had to put down our dog two weeks ago and we just had a close family friend pass away the other day. My head space hasn't been good lately.

A swirl of fireflies danced in the night sky, their luminous glow casting an ethereal glow along the brick walls of a two-story house belonging to a Lieutenant Gil Arroyo. Which in, and of itself, should have been impossible due to the hazy nature of the New York City atmosphere. Laughter echoed and bounced off of the trees and the fences in the quiet neighborhood, as the summer nights made their presence known finally.

Profiler to the NYPD, Malcolm Bright, looked up at the home before him. Memories flickered on and off through his brain, like a broken light bulb in a dilapidated building. Home-cooked meals spent at an antique table, hours spent pondering over chess moves, summers spent sitting on the front porch as Jackie Arroyo read books on architecture and roman history. 

Malcolm glanced down at his masterpiece, a Drunken Cherry Chocolate Cake, a cake that he had spent hours trying to perfect. Malcolm was a lot of things, but baker he was not. He had spent many birthdays when he was younger trying to bake birthday cakes for Gil, and they somehow always came out wrong. One year, a flame had caught fire to the kitchen window curtains and had almost taken the whole house with it, if not for Jackie’s quick thinking. 

Lost in thought of memories long ago forgotten, he almost didn’t hear the creak of the wrought iron hinges on the wooden gate leading up to the path. Turning his neck at a slight angle, Malcolm could see Edrisa walking up the cracked stone pathway. Her feet were covered by a sleek pair of black heels, which clacked against the slate of the stone pathway as she walked towards him with a smile blooming across her face. 

“I should have known I would see you, Malcolm! How are you?” Edrisa asked, stretching upwards to wrap her arms around him in a hug. He wrapped his left arm around her slim waist, holding the cake to the side so it wouldn’t get jostled. 

“Edrisa, hello. I’m okay, I actually somehow managed to get a couple of hours of sleep last night. Thank you for that sleep tea recipe you sent me, it worked wonders” he said, his fingers lingering along her waist a few seconds longer than he expected. In the year that Malcolm had been friends with Edrisa, he had gotten to know her quite well and he found himself wandering to her face in his thoughts more and more these days. He’s not quite sure when he first felt feelings towards her developing, he just knew that he didn’t expect them to come on so fast. She had quite obviously, expressed an interest in him, this was quite obvious and sure, there were times on cases that he may have flirted back with her. Like said before, he felt his mind envisioning her face more and more, his eyes sparked with a bright flame when he would see her on crime scenes and his stomach often did flips when she smiled. He chalked that last one up to his lack of appetite, though. Every Friday, he would go and visit her lab and they would discuss previous cases or their favorite shows or their favorite wonder of the world, the list went on and on. Malcolm would provide a freshly brewed batch of tea from some obscure shop and Edrisa would bake a masterpiece of a dessert, and together they would tune out the rest of the world. 

“You two creepy lovebirds going to just stand there staring at each other, or are gonna shift your asses inside?” asked JT, startling the pair into jumping several feet apart, staring at them with a smirk on his face as his wife Tally giggled at the interruption.

“Sorry, sorry…. shall we head inside?” Edrisa asked, awkwardly beckoning towards the weathered and aged walk way to the backyard, with a sweeping flourish of her arms and a half bow that had even Malcolm giggling. Tightening her grip on the bottle of expensive wine that she had bought for tonight, she stepped forward and walked past Malcolm. As she brushed past him, a waft of cherry blossom perfume wafted gently towards him in the calm breeze. As she walked up the path, Malcolm could see the imperceptible and subtle swing of her hips that she was putting into her steps, her daisy-patterned wrap dress delicately swinging back and forth around her thighs at the movement. 

Malcolm turned back towards JT and Tally, the husband and wife both staring at him with matching smirks, JT looking minutely more perturbed that he had just caught his co-worker/friend checking out his other co-worker/friend. Tally simply placed her hand on Malcolm’s shoulder, took a slight inhale and air and walked away and continued after Edrisa. 

“It’s about time you got here, Malcolm! I was about to send out a search party.” said Gil, placing down a tray of hotdog and hamburger buns down in the middle of an extended garden table. Walking over, he clapped a hand on Malcolm’s shoulder and pulled the shorter man into a hug. Pulling out of the embrace, he motioned over to Edrisa and Dani talking. 

“Why don’t you go and entertain our girls over there? Make sure Dani doesn’t see me cooking the burgers. Last time, I accidentally burned hers and I didn’t hear the end of it for three months at work. She even made a giant banner with a picture of her burger and the words, “Lietuenant Gil Arroyo can’t cook for shit.” and hung it in the break room.” he said, rolling his eyes. 

“You do tend to cook your burgers on the more well-done side, man. You deserved to get roasted at work for that.” JT said, walking in between the pair whilst holding a glass bowl of potato salad that Tally had sent him out with. 

“Excuse me! I resent that.” Gil blundered out. 

“I’m going to leave this conversation, I can sense the direction this is heading.” Malcolm said, walking towards the closest seat to Dani and Edrisa. He wasn’t entirely sure what they were talking about as he walked up to them. As soon as they caught a glimpse of him as they sat down, they stopped talking, which led Malcolm to the obvious conclusion that they were talking about something incredibly important. 

“If it isn’t Malcolm Bright, what time do you call this?” Dani asked, arching an eyebrow in question at the handsome man. 

“Sorry, I just caught up outside. Will you ever forgive me?” Malcolm pleaded sarcastically, hand over his heart and fighting the urge to chuckle. 

“Oh, we ALL know what got you caught up - OW! What’d you do that for?” Dani yelped, rubbing the shin of her left leg and turning an accusatory glare towards the woman sitting across from her. 

“You know exactly what for.” Edrisa said, giving her a pointed look, her eyes screaming volumes. 

“Would you like me to give you two a minute?” Malcolm asked, his cerulean eyes switching back and forth between two of the most important women in his life, noting the indiscernible changes in body language between the pair. 

“NO! I mean, no, you don’t need to give the two of us a minute. Thank you though, Malcolm.” Edrisa said, turning her gaze up towards him and her hand going to twist and turn the thin charm bracelet that adorned her right wrist. Her lips parted into a gentle smile, her eyes taking in his appearance with a child-like wonder, like a little child who is seeing their first glimpse of snow. Malcolm rested his glance upon her face, taking in her features, as if he had simply just discovered the ninth wonder of the world. He could never tire of seeing her face, it was one of the things that he prayed he never lost his memory of. 

The pair were so encompassed in their own other-world, that they failed to hear the snickers coming from Dani. Both snapped out of their reveries, turning to look in a direction other than each other, out of embarrassment of being caught. 

Dani swung her legs out from underneath the table and stretched her back out after getting up from the bench. Turning her head to the side, she caught a glimpse of Gil at the grill.

“ **Alright, I’ll leave you alone.** Someone’s gotta make sure Gil Arroyo over there doesn’t turn my burger into a lump of rock again.” Dani said, her curly hair whipping over her shoulder as she walked towards the grilling area. Not before Malcolm caught her sending a wink towards Edrisa, which sent his heart racing.

“Well, that was…. interesting. You know you can sit, Malcolm?” she asked, a blush spreading across her cheeks once again. 

Malcolm’s body lurched forward without his subconscious thinking, and he sat down in the seat next to her. Within minutes, the rest of their little family were all coming over towards the table with various dishes of food in their hands. It was nights like these that Malcolm appreciated the most. No matter what struggles they faced, it was nights like these that reminded him that they would always have each other.


	4. A Magic Love & Nights in an Irish Pub Garden

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Edrisa never liked to celebrate her birthday, and she expressly forbade her boyfriend and love of her life, Malcolm Bright, from present-giving. Let's be real, we knew this soft boy wouldn't listen. What happens when they celebrate her birthday in an Irish pub garden?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My apologies for the delay in this chapter, and also the fact that it most likely is horrendously written. I've been working more hours, and I'm often exhausted by the time that I get home. Hopefully, the absolute pure fluff that this is this creation will make up for it? 
> 
> Established Edrisa/Malcolm relationship xx

Edrisa knew what people thought of her, knew of the cruel words and the snide comments about her odd behavioral habits that people often whispered when they thought she couldn’t hear them. But she did, she always heard them, she never paid much thought to them however. 

There were only a handful of people in her life that she trusted with her deepest secrets, and she had made the mistake of letting people into her safe space in the past. However, these people often turned out to be disappointments and when she had called them out on her bullshit, they had made it to be that they were the “victims” and that she was simply a “silly woman” for letting them get through her walls in the first place. No, Edrisa only had 6 people she would trust until her dying breath. 

Her college room mate, the girl with the snake bite piercings and lime green hair, who would often quote Doctor Who to cheer her up.

Gil Arroyo, who always made sure she ate if she ever forgot to, due to her busy schedule.

Dani Powell, the girl who has kicked her ex-boyfriends’ arses more times than she could count. 

JT Tarmel, the man was like a brother to her, often joking with her about her forwardness but wouldn’t hesitate to throw a punch.

And finally….

Malcolm Bright. She didn’t know what to expect when he first came to the team, but now… she was entranced. Yes, he was very physically appealing, you would have to be blind to not see that, but he had the intelligence and the wit of a scholar and the kind heart of a lion. He was a man in pain, his fathers actions taking a toll of him in every possible manner. Edrisa simply knew that she didn’t want to ever be apart from him, her smile developing at even the mere mention of his name. 

These people all held a firm grip on her heart, even more so than her own mother, who she had quite the tumultuous relationship with. She trusted these people with little pieces of her outside life, nuggets of information that she preferred to keep sheltered away from prying eyes. She never liked to celebrate birthdays, as it just reminded her of her difficult history with her mother and father. 

….

Her favorite team had finally solved a case that they had been struggling to stay above the water on, a series of brutal slayings in which au pairs had been tortured in front of the children that they were charged to protect. The killer never harmed the children, they couldn’t understand why, only to find out that their killer had been repeatedly abused in the past by their own “protector”. The case had taken a serious toll on all those involved. 

The team were walking down the road from the precinct, their shoulders heavy and their eyes clouded with exhaustion, towards a little irish pub that they often went to get dinner and drinks at. 

The small, vintage bell chimed with a trill as they opened the door, a slight breeze rolling in with them. One by one, they slowly staggered into the pub, taking care to not trip on the loose floorboard just inside the entrance. Malcolm was one of the last to walk in, taking care to twirl around and hold it open so that Edrisa could step in after him. As she did, she glanced up at him through her eyelashes, unwinding the woven striped scarf from around her dainty neck. Slipping her arms from within the confines of her tan duster coat, she hung the pair on one of the carved arms of the chipped mahogany coat rack. 

Glancing to the side, she had seen that Dani, Gil and JT had walked on ahead and had already managed to grab a booth in the corner near the bar, whilst Malcolm rocked back and forth on his heels near her elbow, his eyes flitting back and forth in a manner that gave her pause. It was as if he was searching for someone or something, some hidden danger, his mind never pausing on one direction for long.

“Malcolm, are you okay? Why are you nervous?” she asked him, fingers gripping onto his in a soothing fashion as they carefully walked towards their fellow team mates, steps in sync and red flushing across both of their faces. Whilst they had been dating for eleven months, she would never get over the fact that she could hold his hand or give him affection whenever her heart desired. Never in her wildest dreams did she think that she would be able to say that she was dating Malcolm Bright.

His eyes flashed towards her, guilty at being caught out. 

“Nothing’s wrong, Ris. Don’t worry, angel.” Malcolm whispered, eyes brightening and a soft smile appeared on his face, gently squeezing her hand in reassurance. 

“Not entirely sure I believe you, Malcolm. I can read you like a book by now, something Is bothering you.” she said, tugging at his hand to get him to follow her, leading him to the doors that led to the secluded garden in the back. It was their favorite place to visit whenever one of them was sad, and oftentimes they would sneak away from work during their lunches so they could have some time to themselves without the team. 

Delicately, she pushed open the glass french doors and pulled him through, not noticing the smirks and looks that their team members shared, each of them sharing a conspiratorial smile. 

The pair strolled past the terra-cotta plant pots of all shapes and sizes, filled with every beautiful flower that your mind could gaze upon and admired the cracked stone wall with the ivy creeping its fingers along its stonework and finally came upon what they called “their bench”. It was a wrought iron bench, delicate detailing along the back and the legs, with plush gingham cushions on the bottom for comfort. In all actuality, it belonged to an elderly couple that had perished within a week of each other the year prior, the husbands heart aching to be with his wife of 67 hours, the mere thought of being without her causing him to “die of a broken heart.” 

She sat down on the left side of the bench, or “her side” as they often referred to it, sliding backwards until her toes were no longer able to touch the grass beneath her suede boots and she pulled him to sit down next to her. 

“You know I love you, right?” he asked, her eyes darting up to his in panic.

“Are you breaking up with me?” she asked, tears welling and pulling her hand back and retreating in towards herself.

“Of course not! You are the best thing in my life, and I fully intend on keeping you as close to me as physically possible for the rest of my days.” Malcolm said, pulling her close to him and gently kissing her on the forehead.

“What’s going on then? You’re acting strange, I just want to help you if there’s something wrong.” she said, resting her head on his chest, the scent of his cologne invading her senses, clouding her thoughts. 

“I know you hate your birthday, little one, that your mom has put you off of them. I also know that you said not to worry about your birthday, or to get you anything….” Malcolm said, trailing off in anticipation at the inevitable storm that was about to rage through the quaint garden. 

“I told you not to get me anything, Malcolm! FOR GOD SAKE.” she said, moving to pull away from him, his arms pulling her closer to prevent her from doing so. 

“I know you did, but I just couldn’t do that. Please don’t be mad at me. Let me at least give it to you.” he asked.

“Fine.” Edrisa said, crossing her arms and pouting slightly, directing a judgmental look at his retreating back as he walked towards the wrought iron gate that led out to the side entrance. 

A moment later, Malcolm came back, but he wasn’t alone. He was carrying a small Husky puppy, cerulean eyes glancing in every direction and tongue darting out in a desperate effort to lick Malcolm’s face. Slowly, he put the grey and white colored puppy down, the little ball of fur not quite knowing what to do or where to look or who to go to. 

A squeal pierced the air, and Edrisa darted forwards and promptly sat cross-legged on the grass, clapping her hands to get the puppy to come towards her. It did so, bounding towards her with its tongue lolling out and stumbling over its slightly too big paws in its desperation to reach her. It soon did so, crawling all over her and yipped loudly, happy to see his new momma. 

Malcolm watched on with a fond smile, his heart skipping a beat at the scene in front of him. A barking, fluffy Husky puppy with too big paws and Edrisa, the love of his life and within the week (hopefully), the women who he could call his fiancee. Her eyes never quite strayed away from her new fur baby, only staring up at Malcolm in gratitude and adoration at what he had done for her. 

He could not quite tell how long their little family stayed out in the garden that night, Edrisa never letting the puppy away from her sight or out of her grasp. 

With a fond smile on his face, and a resound sense of happiness, he resigned himself to his new normal. 

**"And slowly…. I was forgotten.”** he muttered to himself with a light and breathy chuckle, right before gracefully planting himself on the grass as close to the pair as he could get, his hand gently touching hers as they lay on the grass, and finally, slowly linking their pinkies together. 

And that was how the team found the little family three hours later. Both of them cured on their sides, Malcolm curling his body around Edrisa’s protectively, shielding her from danger even in his sleep. Their gentle soul of a puppy, lay next to Edrisa, his face nestled within the curve of her neck and his leg twitching occasionally in his sleep.


	5. Author's Note

Hello all!

I know that it has been a while since I posted a chapter, and I apologize for that. Real life has been a bit hectic for me, at the moment, and I'm working 6 days a week pretty much. I've been very stressed lately, and my anxiety levels have been high. 

I still very much love the show, but I have decided to put this on hiatus until the new season airs. My sincerest apologies.

\- Mary


End file.
